Starter



Patented Oct. 17, 1 933 PATE T OFFICE STARTER .loseph Ernest OctaveApplication March 3,

Louette, Pcissy, France 1932, Serial No. 596,582

and in France March 14, 1931 2 Claims.

The present invention has for object improvements in starters of thetype in which the armature is axially displaced, when at rest,relatively to its field magnets, under the action of 5 a resilientreturning member; a pinion, rigidly secured on the armature shaft, comesin engagement with the toothed wheel to be driven when the armaturemoves in translation and assumes the position of minimum reluctance ofthe magnetic circuit.

These improvements are mainly characterised by'the following pointsapplicable separately or according to any combinations:

(a) The collecting drum of the armature movable in translation has aconducting portion and an insulating portion so arranged that thebrushes are placed, when the armature is at rest, on the insulatingportion, the conducting portion of the drum of the. movable armature 0coming in contact with these brushes, when the translation of thearmature takes place.

(12) The armature angularly moves substantially only when its axialdisplacement is terminated and when the throwing in gear is effected,the circuit of the armature being closed through the brushes at the endof the axial movement of this armature.

(c) The driving pinion, mounted on the armature shaft, extends at leastinto one helical groove provided in the said armature and is subjected,in one direction, to the action of a resilient member such as a spring,so that the movement in translation of the armature, in order to effectthe throwing in gear, causes the said driving pinion to be pressedagainst the toothed wheel to be driven, by producing, in case the teethare not in coincidence for efiecting this meshing, an angulardisplacement of the said driving pinion so that the latter automaticallyseeks the correct meshing position.

(cl) The motor is provided with a shunt winding and a series windingwhich are so arranged that, during the period of translation of thearmature, both windings are in series and, during the period ofrotation, the shunt winding is in shunt across the armature.

(e) The various parts are so devised that the meshing takes place beforerotation of'the armature. I

The invention also relates to otherparticular points which will appearfrom the following de scription with reference to the accompanyingdrawing, given by way of example only and in i which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation, in axial section, of an improvedstarter according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram.

In the form of construction illustrated, an armature 1 is displaced,when at rest, relatively to its field magnets 11.0, under the action ofa spring 3, the armature 1 comprises a drum 111 constituted by aconducting portion 112 and an insulating portion 113 on which bear, inposition of rest (illustrated in the drawing) brushes 52 and 53. Thestarting circuit which includes the battery 40 is controlled by a switch80.

According to one of the features of the invention, a driving gear 2,mounted on the shaft 1 of the armature, can receive, relatively to thelatter, a helical movement owing to a helical groove 114 provided inthis shaft 1; A spring 1l5-bearing at one of'its ends on a flange 115rigid with the shaft 1 axially acts on the gear 2 in one direction, forpressing it, in position of rest, against an abutment 116 provided atone of the ends of the shaft 1*.

The operation of the starter previously described is as follows:

The user moves the switch 80 onto the corresponding contact-piece 81,this causing the closing of the following circuit:

' -'-battery 40-wire 117--switch 80-contact piece 81-'-wire 118' inding1l9wi re 120- winding 121-wire 122-wire l23--winding 124 who125--winding l26--wire 127-body.

The closing of this first circuit causes the axial displacement of thearmature in the direction of the arrow 128.

The driving gear 2 comes against the gear 8 and meshes with the latterif the teeth are in a correct meshing position. In the reverse case, thegear 2 is held stationary in translation against the gear 8 but owing tothe axial displacement of the armature in the direction of the arrow123, of the inherent inertia of this armature, and of the helicalincline 114, this gear 2 angularly moves and seeks its correct meshingposition. The incline 114 is obviously devised to allow the rotation ofthe gear 2 to the extent of one tooth for instance. When the gear 2 hasautomatically placed itself in the cor rect position, it easily meshesunder the action of the spring 115, which has been previouslycompressed. These searching and meshing operations are very rapidlyeffected.

This arrangement prevents shocks between the gears under the action ofthe movement of the armature.

During the meshing operation, the conducting portion 112 oi the drum 111has come in contact with the brushes 52 and 53, efiecting the closing ofthe following circuit:

-battery 40-wire 117-switch --contact piece 81-wire 1l8brush 53-drum112-brush 52-wire 123-winding l24-wire 125-winding 126--w1re l27body.

The shunt winding 119-121 is then in shunt across the armature.

The armature is caused to rotate, ensuring the setting in operation ofthe motor.

The various parts automatically return to their initial positions assoon as the starting circult is opened by moving the switch 80 in thedirection of the arrow 130.

Fig. 2 diagrammatically illustrates the mode of assemblage adopted, thedrum 113 is indicated at 11310 and the brushes at 52 and 53. The shuntwinding is indicated at l19-121 and the series winding at 124-426. Whenthe brushes 52, 53 are electrically connected, the shunt winding isautomatically placed in shunt across the armature.

It will also be noted that the rotation of the armature begins only whenthe brushes are entirely in contact with the conducting portion of thedrum 112. Use can also be made of a pinion 2 having a suflicient widthfor effecting the meshing notwithstanding the important displacement intranslation of the armature.

It is obvious that the form of construction described and illustrated isonly a simple example capable of receiving numerous modifications which,as long as they do not alter in any way the main features above setforth and the desired result, remain included in the scope of thepresent invention.

Moreover, it will be noted that the searching device (helical groove114, pinion 2) might be used on any starter, the armature of which wouldbe fixed in translation. In this case, the pinion 2, or an assemblycarrying the latter, might be moved in translation, either mechanically,or by means of any suitable electric devices.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an electric starter motor, a field magnet pole piece, a shaftcarried armature mounted to rotate and move axially, means normallytending to move the armature axially away from the pole piece, seriesconnected main and auxiliary magnet windings, and means to shunt out theauxiliary winding, said means including brushes connected to theopposite ends of the auxiliary winding and normally insulated from eachother, and means cooperating with said brushes upon axial movement ofthe armature to electrically connect said brushes.

2. In an electric starter motor, a field magnet pole piece, a shaftcarried armature mounted to rotate and move axially, means normallytending to move the armature axially away from the pole piece, seriesconnected main and auxiliary magnet windings, and means to shunt out theauxiliary winding, said means including brushes connected to theopposite ends of the auxiliary winding and normally insulated from eachother, and a sleeve mounted on the shaft of the armature including aninsulating part and a conductive part, the insulating part operating toseparate the brushes when the armature is moved away from the pole pieceand the conductive part operating to electrically connect the brusheswhen the armature is moved toward the pole piece.

JOSEPH ERNEST OCTAVE LOUETTE.

